Advocacy plays an important role in the work of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

But, as its name suggests, IPPF is not a centralized organization. Rather, it is a collection of member organizations, each of which began as a fully independent organization working in sexual and reproductive health in one of 170 countries reached by IPPF.

“The big advantage of the federation model is that we are responding to local conditions in specific countries,” says IPPF President Dr. Jacqueline Sharpe.

“The people working in Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan – those are Iraqis and Iranians and Afghans. They have a vested interest and they understand the culture absolutely and completely.”

Read the full article.